Courtesy Harness Racing Update
JACKIE Gibson admits she had a little dummy spit when Eye Keep Smiling was born.
Gibson openly told her team at Success Stud at Young, in the rich harness heartland of the NSW Riverina, she wanted a colt with lots of white markings.
“When she was born, Robyn (McCarthy, foaling attendant) sent a photo of a colt with white markings and a plain bay filly and text ‘guess which one is yours?,” Gibson recalled.
“Of course mine was the bay filly. I’ll admit I had a bit of a sook.
“Robyn kept that message and sent it back to me as a reminder after the mare won the Queen Elizabeth (Group 1) in May.”
Fast forward almost six years and Gibson looks back and laughs.
Eye Keep Smiling, or "Louise" as Gibson calls her, has stamped herself as Australasia’s best pacing mare, won 27 of her 38 starts and banked almost $A800,000.
Last Saturday night, she produced arguably THE performance of Brisbane’s Inter Dominion final night at Albion Park when she successfully defended her $A150,000 Group 1 Golden Girl crown in one of Australia’s top mares’ features.
In doing so, the daughter of Sweet Lou (out of Armbro Operative mare Oh Eye See) created history, becoming the first mare to break the 1min50sec barrier over 1660m with a 1min49.9sec mile rate.
And she did it sitting parked outside the leader and main danger, Steno, all the way on a night where eight of the 10 winners raced hard against the marker pegs.
It moved her trainer-driver Luke McCarthy to tell Gibson Eye Keep Smiling was “the best mare he’s driven.”
“To hear Luke say that is exciting and humbling when you think about all the great mares he’s driven. His own star Fleur De Lil, Miracle Mile winner Baby Bling and a mare I had a share in, Our Sixpence, were all absolute stars,” Gibson said.
“The whole night was so special. Mum (Mary) came with me and we’ve been on cloud nine since. I’ll think we’ll just float here for a while.
“We actually stayed up there (Brisbane) for a few days after and that was great to soak it up.
“It Louise's 10th win in a row and in so many of them she’s had to do all the hard work.”
Although Gibson didn’t get the colt she wanted, Eye Keep Smiling’s racing style is more like a tough old gelding.
“She’s not mare-ish, if you know what I mean. She’s a big, strong type and races that way. She’s so tough, when you think she’s struggling, she always digs in like the other night,” she said.
While Gibson is the “face” of Eye Keep Smiling and Success Stud, her family business of almost 60 years, she insists it’s a team effort and the whole team shares in the wonderful ride the mare is giving them.
“We’re not a huge operation, quite tight knit,” she said. “We’ve got 47 mares and 27 weanlings on the property and a wonderfully close group of staff.
“It’s very special for all of us to share Louise's success together.
“And this win came at a great time because it’s a quieter time for us as we start to prepare for the next breeding season.
“We still need people back home and with mum going to Brisbane, it was a girls trip and my partner Jocko (Jock Rendall) and Todd (Day), who does a lot of work with the weanlings, kept things going back home.”
Gibson said there was also a US connection to Eye Keep Smiling.
“Her great grandmother, Jasmarilla, was sold to the US and finished her racing days over there. She won 50 races back in the 1980s which is some achievement,” she said.
“She won Australian 2YO and 3YO of the year before being sold to the US. Later, when she popped up in a $US50,000 claimer, we bought her back and kept her going over there to make the 50 wins before bringing her back home.
“Sadly, she was a breeding disaster, but she gave us so many great moments on the track and has led to this mare.”
Through the wonder of modern equine science, Eye Keep Smiling is already a mum.
She had a foal through embryo transfer in 2023.
“It’s a Bettors Delight colt and will be sold at the Nutrien Sydney Yearling Sale on March 8 (next year),” Gibson said.
“Racing them is my hobby, but breeding and selling them is our business so it’s really important.”
Despite that, Eye Keep Smiling’s latest win convinced Gibson to keep her racing for another season.
“Luke’s keen. It’s clear she’s still really enjoying her racing and going better than ever.
“We can do both, as we did back in 2023. I’ll be talking to Luke in the next few days about the best timing to flush another embryo from her.
“We planned to do it last year, but she didn’t have much of a break and the timings didn’t work. I’m keen for it to work this time.”
McCarthy, who had another stellar night also winning the Group 1 Queensland Oaks aboard Soho Americano on Inter Dominion night, said he wouldn’t be afraid to take on the boys later this year and earlier next.
“She done it before and ran a great race (fifth) in the TAB Eureka last year. She’s tough enough to do it,” he said.
“We’ve kept her to mares races this time and she’s thrived, but there aren’t a lot of options so we’d be willing to step outside a bit.
“I’ve got to sit down and work out a plan, but even a race like the Victoria Cup (October 18) wouldn’t be out of the question if she was ready at the time.
“Beyond that, they’ve got the NSW Carnival of Cups up here I’d look at seriously with her.
“She’s one of those horses you just love to drive. Even when you think she’s all-out, she finds again. She’s a real winner.
“And it’s such a thrill sharing it all with Jackie. We’ve had a few horses together and lots of success. She’s such a big part of the game and so passionate about it.”
